Serotonin increases ERK1/2 phosphorylation in astrocytes by stimulation of 5-HT2B and 5-HT2C receptors.

We have previously shown that fluoxetine causes ERK(1/2) phosphorylation in cultured mouse astrocytes mediated exclusively by stimulation of 5-HT(2B) receptors (Li et al., 2008b). This raises the question whether this is also the case for serotonin (5-HT) itself. In the present study serotonin was found to induce ERK(1/2) phosphorylation by stimulation of 5-HT(2B) receptors with high affinity (EC(50): 20-30 pM), and by stimulation of 5-HT(2C) receptor with low affinity (EC(50): 1 microM or higher). ERK(1/2) phosphorylation induced by stimulation of either 5-HT(2B) or 5-HT(2C) receptors was mediated by epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor transactivation (Peng et al., this issue), shown by the inhibitory effect of AG1478, an inhibitor of the EGF receptor tyrosine kinase, and GM6001, an inhibitor of Zn-dependent metalloproteinases, and thus of 5-HT(2B) receptor-mediated EGF receptor agonist release. It is discussed that the high potency of the 5-HT(2B)-mediated effect is consistent with literature data for binding affinity of serotonin to cloned human 5-HT(2B) receptors and with observations of low extracellular concentrations of serotonin in brain, which would allow a demonstrated moderate and modality-dependent increase in specific brain areas to activate 5-HT(2B) receptors. In contrast the relevance of the observed 5-HT(2C) receptors on astrocytes is questioned.